Yesterday's trek along the Jabez Branch left state officials cold but ecstatic at finding more trout in one small section of the stream than they found in a three-mile section last year.
Environmentalists pointed to the change as further reason for the state to move quickly to protect the sensitive habitat.
"What people want to hear is whether the Jabez Branch has any hope, is it worth saving. What I saw today -- this is hope," said fish biologist Charlie R. Gougeon, a regional fisheries manager with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. "It's definitely worth saving. The efforts are panning out."
Biologists found 18 brook trout in three miles of the stream -- 11 in the 1,300-foot left fork alone. Last year, they found 10 trout, eight in the left fork, a section that had always had trout. The increasing survival rate proves that stream conditions are good for the fish, they said.
"This is fantastic," said Lina Vlavianos, a member of the Severn River Commission and one of the Jabez Branch's biggest boosters.
Protecting the stream, which meanders through a wooded ravine near Gambrills, has become a rallying point among conservationists in the Severn River watershed. They point to the fish, which can live only in cold, relatively clean water, as symbols of people's ability to protect an environmentally rich area.
Before runoff from highway construction and new houses killed the fish in the late 1980s, the Jabez was the last natural brook trout stream in the Maryland coastal plain and the southernmost wild trout creek in the state. Since then, the DNR has moved more than 300 wild brook trout into the stream, including 22 to the left fork last summer.
Yesterday, teams of biologists sent a mild electrical current through the clear water to stun the fish temporarily, making them easier to net. Biologists identified two trout they had brought to the Jabez from a Baltimore County stream.
The fish appeared to be healthy, having found their place in the Jabez' food chain.
"See this one on the side, he's got a little paunch to his belly. He's in good shape," Mr. Gougeon said.
Plenty of the fish had been eaten. Thousands of raccoon footprints marked the sandy banks of the Jabez.
The only disappointment yesterday was the lack of any sign that the fish had spawned. Such a discovery would have heralded a new era for the stream.
"Maybe the fish that were put in this summer have laid eggs. We wouldn't know until next spring," Ms. Vlavianos said.
Mr. Gougeon said the state "will have to do some more stocking."
"We can't just drop the ball here," he said.
The annual trout count assumed added importance this year. Development threatens the forests needed to maintain the watershed and protect the fish, say environmentalists.
Besieged by activists, the DNR is weighing whether to spend $1 million to buy up land along the left fork's banks. The land is part of a proposed development. Shore Development Co. is poised to submit sketch plans to the county for 78 houses on the 141.68-acre Holladay Park tract.
Environmentalists want to preserve the land because forests absorb rain and prevent erosion. Fish cannot survive the warm water that would run off from pavement or any other impervious surface that comes with development. And fish eggs cannot survive the smothering silt of repeated flash floods.
DNR has said it has no intention of buying up all undeveloped land in the Jabez watershed, though other forested properties are for sale. The state agency also has not made a decision on Holladay Park.
The delay is holding up talks between Anne Arundel County officials and the developer. The county wants to buy or obtain a conservation easement on 20 acres next to the Jabez as part of its package of environmental trade-offs for the nearby landfill.
Tom Andrews, the county's chief land use officer, is tentatively scheduled to discuss the issue Monday with Secretary of Natural Resources Torrey C. Brown, said Lisa Ritter, Mr. Andrews'
spokeswoman.